From the Outside in

REIDsteel has been designing and building structures around the world for almost 100 years but what sort of a company is it and who are the people that make it happen?

To find out I’ve been given unique access behind-the-scenes and I plan to share what I discover so you too can get an insight into what makes this company tick.

Before I do anything else I have to have a tour of the site and a health and safety briefing from Alan Newman, REID’s Safety Advisor. Alan has been with Reid for 24 years, having started in the maintenance department.

With so much heavy steel and cutting, lifting and finishing equipment on site, safety has always been a priority for the company. However, in recent years the image of health and safety has suffered and BBC One’s The Wright Way, a sitcom written by comedian Ben Elton, hasn’t done anything to improve it.

Alan is pretty sanguine about this. He knows people might raise their eyes to heaven when he has to pick them up on a point of safety but he also knows that good procedures prevent accidents that keep his colleagues out of A&E.

They also keep REID’s excellent reputation and health and safety record intact.

While we’re chatting near the head office building, one of the site operatives comes out of a door in a rush, greets Alan and slightly trips over the corner of a box.

“That wouldn’t happen if you stuck to the path,” says Alan to his rather embarrassed colleague. Alan points to the brightly coloured pedestrian pathway that’s painted on the floor outside the door and all around the site. It’s hard to miss but this very minor incident highlights why it’s worth following the rules around here.